Giugliano, Ferdinando, Odendahl, Christian, (2016), “Europe’s Make-or-Break country: what is wrong with Italy’s economy?”, Centre for European Reform, 19 December
After Matteo Renzi lost his referendum on constitutional reform and resigned, Italy returned to the European spotlight. Although it is a founding member of the EU, Italian public support for the European project is among the lowest in Europe; it is the eurozone’s third largest economy, but its economy is the same size as it was in 2000; and it still has the third largest sovereign debt burden in the world, after the US and Japan. Italy could yet pull the eurozone apart – and indeed the EU.
Italy’s dismal economic record has two potential causes: its membership of the euro, and successive governments’ failure to reform the Italian economy.
Relevant Posts
- Gros, Daniel, Pieter de Groen, Willem, (2016), “A radical cure for Italy’s banking problems: A combination of good banks and soft bail-in”, CEPS, 20 December
- Merler, Silvia, (2016), “An Italian take on banking crisis”, Bruegel, 27 October